A CROP of Tynedale’s farming champions returned triumphant from the Great Yorkshire Show.

Building on their success in past years, Slaley’s Marleycote Walls swept the board with their outstanding dairy cattle.

The Baynes family returned from Harrogate with six first prizes in their swag-bag thanks to the jewels of their pedigree home-bred Ayrshire and Shorthorn herd.

Among the Ayrshires, Marleycote Sea Lily took a first in the milk class, was anointed junior champion and won the overall Ayrshire title, whilst Marleycote Brown Nell took intermediate cow in milk and the reserve champion cup.

Marleycote Marigold also won the junior cow in milk class and Marleycote Queen was the top heifer in calf. The “best exhibition of a group of three home-bred animals” also went in the bag, along with the “pair by the same sire” award for Brown Nell and Queen.

The Great Yorkshire Show boasted a strong showing of dairy Shorthorns and so the Baynes were also pleased with Marleycote Fleur, who won the production inspection class thanks to outstanding milk solids gaining those all important production points. This Kayl Outback third calver won as a heifer at Dairy Expo 2015 and was first placed junior cow at the Yorkshire show last year.

The reserve champion in the shorthorn ring was fielded by top dairyman Paul Harrison and his wife, Ann, of Breckney Hill Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall.

Breckney Goldie 15 ET, daughter of Panorama Aramis, also won the heifer in milk class and the junior championship.

At just three weeks fresh, it was the very promising young heifer’s first outing. She is already giving 32kgs daily.

The Harrison family also won the dry cow class with Breckney Goldie 7th VG86, by Drisgol Madonna’s Prince. In calf to Lemon Grove Belagio, Goldie is due to calve her third in September.

Tom and Di Harrison, of growing Moralee Herefords fame, were pleased as punch with two of their gals, who maintained the family’s winning form at the hat-trick of big northern shows this year.

They have an impressive collection of silverware from the Northumberland, Royal Highland and now the Great Yorkshire shows.

Current Royal Highland Show Supreme Champion Coley 1 Pippa 356, a 22-month-old out of Frenchstone P. 1 Boo by Australian sire Days Calibre, was judged both the female reserve champion and the overall reserve champion at Harrogate.

And then Moralee 1 Kate 2nd, who was overall junior champion at the Highland show, did it again in Yorkshire. The 16-month-old is out of home-bred Moralee 1 Kate and by Romany 1 Frisky.

Tom said: “They are two very good cows – we make a bit of a song and dance about Pippa and Kate!

“They might not be the Middletons, but we’re delighted to have them on our team.”

Tom and Di only joined the Hereford Cattle Society in 2011 and began showing for real the following year. “This was our sixth time at the Yorkshire show, so to have reserve champion was pretty special,” he said.

Meanwhile, over in the sheep section Robert Raines and his daughter, Rachel, from West Woodburn’s Townfoot Farm, did well with a three-crop ewe who was female champion in the blackface section and blackface breed champion. The ewe also went on to be reserve hill interbreed champion.

Rachel said: “She was blackface champion as a gimmer at the Yorkshire three years ago and she’s retired now – this was her very last outing. We’re absolutely over the moon with her.”